Christmas at Lilac Cottage - Holly Martin Page 0,40

turned into someone wonderful like Henry, who loved Daisy so much there was no room for anyone else in his heart.

She dumped her wet clothes in the bag and walked out. She walked down the stairs into the warmth of the pub again and a loud cheer went up when her ‘fan club’ saw her. They all surged round her, patting her on the back and trying to thrust drinks in her hand.

She was finding it difficult to breathe, the tightness in her chest becoming unbearable. Henry was suddenly in front of her, his eyes blazing with a myriad of emotions.

‘I need to go home, I can’t stay here.’

He grabbed her hand and forced their way out of the pub, despite all the moans of protest behind them. They obviously wanted to celebrate her heroism until the early hours of the morning, but she got the feeling they probably would even without her there.

It was freezing outside and Penny knew it felt worse than it was because she still hadn’t thawed out yet. Her whole body was aching, her muscles screaming at her.

‘You guys stay and enjoy the ice skating, I’ll get a taxi,’ Penny said quietly, as Henry pulled her a little way along the street.

‘Daisy has gone to collect our shoes. The car is here, I brought it as close as I could.’ He bundled her into the passenger seat, but before he could climb into the driver’s seat, Daisy was already clambering into the back.

‘I’m sorry I ruined your night.’

Henry stared at her incredulously. ‘By saving a child’s life, yes how incredibly selfish of you. I saw you dive into the sea. I honestly don’t know whether to applaud your bravery or berate your stupidity – you could have been killed.’

‘Let’s go with applauding her bravery then, eh, Dad?’ Daisy said, from the back seat as she squeezed Penny’s shoulder. ‘You’re a hero.’

Penny didn’t feel very heroic, in fact she felt pretty devoid of all emotion at the moment.

Henry seemed to guess that she didn’t want to talk and they drove back up the winding lanes in silence. The further away they got from The Pilchard the more the pressure on her chest lessened slightly. She tried to order her emotions; she had done all her grieving for the baby she had lost eight years before, it didn’t make sense to be upset again now, but walking back into The Pilchard had brought back so many memories of that horrible night. She had been dealt one bad blow after another by Chris in the immediate aftermath of the baby’s death and for some reason she associated the pub with all of that. Not only had he left her two days after the miscarriage, but he had also spread cruel lies around town about her. Then to find he had been sleeping with Jade behind her back the entire time she had been pregnant had been the ultimate betrayal.

To find out that Chris was now a parent again was a shock, especially after he had been so against her keeping their child. He had been young, they both were. But somehow, knowing he had grown up and moved on, that hopefully he was in a better place now, a much better person, made so much of that bitterness and hate she felt for him fade away. Maybe losing his baby all those years before would make him treat his little boy like a king and truly appreciate how precious he was. She would hope for that.

They pulled up outside their house and she said her goodbyes to Henry and Daisy and let herself into her house. She ran upstairs and quickly changed out of the clothes that, although clean, still smelt of the pub.

When she came back downstairs in her pyjamas, Henry was waiting for her. He’d lit a fire and the golden glow infused the room with warmth and light.

‘Are you OK?’

She stepped closer to him, hesitant because she wanted nothing more than to step into his arms and have him hold her tight but she didn’t know how to ask for that. But somehow, instinctively he knew what she wanted and gave her just that. In one large stride he was in front of her enveloping her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head on his chest, hugging him back.

He felt so good, so warm and solid and dependable. She had known him such a short amount of time